<p>With advancement of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the important function of artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting urban sustainable development and ecological protection is becoming increasingly prominent. However, there are few studies which investigate the interaction between AI, environmental regulation and urban sustainable development. Therefore, this article investigates AI's effect on urban sustainable development and the moderation role of environmental regulation with entropy method, SBM model, TVP-SV-VAR model, moderating effect model and panel data of 287 cities in China from 2012 to 2023. The analysis results reveal that AI can improve urban sustainable development. Besides, environmental regulation can amplify the positive impact of AI on urban sustainable development. Consequently, the policy system should be improved to AI technology innovation. And environmental regulation policies should be implemented according to the practical situation of different cities.</p> Graphical abstract <p>The research flowchart of this paper</p>